US8461446B1 - Foot operated control device for electronic drums - Google Patents
Foot operated control device for electronic drums Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US8461446B1 US8461446B1 US13/343,650 US201213343650A US8461446B1 US 8461446 B1 US8461446 B1 US 8461446B1 US 201213343650 A US201213343650 A US 201213343650A US 8461446 B1 US8461446 B1 US 8461446B1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- foot
- control device
- operated control
- portable
- electronic
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
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Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
- G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
- G10H3/00—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means
- G10H3/12—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers, the electrical signals being further manipulated or amplified and subsequently converted to sound by a loudspeaker or equivalent instrument
- G10H3/14—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers, the electrical signals being further manipulated or amplified and subsequently converted to sound by a loudspeaker or equivalent instrument using mechanically actuated vibrators with pick-up means
- G10H3/146—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers, the electrical signals being further manipulated or amplified and subsequently converted to sound by a loudspeaker or equivalent instrument using mechanically actuated vibrators with pick-up means using a membrane, e.g. a drum; Pick-up means for vibrating surfaces, e.g. housing of an instrument
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A43—FOOTWEAR
- A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
- A43B3/00—Footwear characterised by the shape or the use
- A43B3/34—Footwear characterised by the shape or the use with electrical or electronic arrangements
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
- G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
- G10H1/00—Details of electrophonic musical instruments
- G10H1/32—Constructional details
- G10H1/34—Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
- G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
- G10H3/00—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means
- G10H3/12—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers, the electrical signals being further manipulated or amplified and subsequently converted to sound by a loudspeaker or equivalent instrument
- G10H3/14—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers, the electrical signals being further manipulated or amplified and subsequently converted to sound by a loudspeaker or equivalent instrument using mechanically actuated vibrators with pick-up means
- G10H3/143—Instruments in which the tones are generated by electromechanical means using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers, the electrical signals being further manipulated or amplified and subsequently converted to sound by a loudspeaker or equivalent instrument using mechanically actuated vibrators with pick-up means characterised by the use of a piezoelectric or magneto-strictive transducer
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
- G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
- G10H2220/00—Input/output interfacing specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
- G10H2220/155—User input interfaces for electrophonic musical instruments
- G10H2220/321—Garment sensors, i.e. musical control means with trigger surfaces or joint angle sensors, worn as a garment by the player, e.g. bracelet, intelligent clothing
- G10H2220/336—Control shoe or boot, i.e. sensor-equipped lower part of lower limb, e.g. shoe, toe ring, sock, ankle bracelet or leg control attachment
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
- G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
- G10H2220/00—Input/output interfacing specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
- G10H2220/461—Transducers, i.e. details, positioning or use of assemblies to detect and convert mechanical vibrations or mechanical strains into an electrical signal, e.g. audio, trigger or control signal
- G10H2220/525—Piezoelectric transducers for vibration sensing or vibration excitation in the audio range; Piezoelectric strain sensing, e.g. as key velocity sensor; Piezoelectric actuators, e.g. key actuation in response to a control voltage
Definitions
- the present invention relates to the playing of electronic musical instruments and is specifically: an improved, unique, portable, wearable, foot operated control device for use with electronic drum modules or any electronic sound producing device that uses external triggers.
- the bass drum is at the heart of nearly every drum kit.
- the striking apparatus foot pedal
- sounding apparatus acoustic bass drum
- trigger apparatus electronic bass drum
- a drum pedal is depressed causing a beater to pivot around an axis and forcibly strike a tensioned skin. This produces a vibration that is then amplified and projected by the hollow chamber of the drum that the skin is attached to.
- Electronic bass drums function in the same way except that the beater strikes a trigger apparatus instead of a sounding apparatus. This strike is converted by a transducer into an electrical impulse that is sent to an electronic drum module that will then reproduce any synthesized bass drum sound chosen by the player. This sound is then amplified electronically and projected by a loudspeaker.
- Acoustic bass drums come in many forms yet they all share a few universal disadvantageous traits: they are large, heavy, not easy to transport, require the continual maintenance of at least one tensioned skin, require a striking apparatus to produce a sound and generally produce only 1 sound.
- Electronic bass drums solve a few of these problems. They are smaller, lighter, easier to transport, and can produce a variety of sounds, however some maintenance of a tensioned skin or mesh and the use of a striking apparatus are still required.
- the striking apparatus itself is also varied in form, however all forms are complex mechanisms comprised of various materials including formed metal, springs, levers, chains, bearings, straps, plastics, fabrics, wood, etc.
- the present invention is a control device worn on the players' foot that has been modified into the simplest form of electronic bass drum pedal.
- This “footwear” combines the striking and trigger apparatus into one extremely portable and space saving device, can be used to trigger an infinite number of user defined sounds and requires no new technique in order to use.
- This device requires no moveable parts and therefore needs no mechanical adjustments or manufacturing of special components.
- the footwear contains a piezoelectric transducer in the heel area that when struck (using the traditional “heel-up” and/or “heel-down” bass drum pedal playing techniques) generates an electric signal that is sent to an electronic drum module producing a synthesized drum sound. A player simply wears the device on his/her foot, connects the device to a drum module and plays.
- FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the present invention using a heeled left shoe as the control device.
- FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view with a cross-sectional view showing in detail the electronic components and their placement inside the heel of the device.
- FIG. 1 is comprised of a heeled shoe 1 , the shoe heel 2 , the removable bottom portion of the heel 3 , and a 90° RCA adapter jack 4 .
- FIG. 2 refers more specifically to the interior of the heel 2 , of which is comprised of a round piece of medium stiffness foam 9 which sits on top a 35 mm diameter piezoelectric transducer 8 which is wired via negative wire 7 and positive wire 6 to a female RCA jack 5 that is connected to the male input of the 90° RCA adapter jack 4 .
- a player simply wears the shoe 1 and using a 1 ⁇ 4′′ jack to RCA jack cable (typically), connects the RCA end of that cable to the female end of the 90° RCA adapter jack 4 and the 1 ⁇ 4′′ jack of the cable to a 1 ⁇ 4′′ input of the drum module.
- a player wearing the device will tap the heel or toe (depending on the technique used) of the shoe against the floor surface in order to produce electrical signals that will travel from the piezoelectric transducer through the attached cable to the drum module to trigger a synthesized sound.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Electrophonic Musical Instruments (AREA)
- Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)
Abstract
Description
These prior art devices suffer from notable drawbacks particularly: large sizes, difficult to transport, depend on the interaction of two distinct and complex apparatuses and in some cases, require learning a new playing technique in order to utilize the device.
Claims (5)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA2,762,910 | 2011-12-29 | ||
CA2762910A CA2762910C (en) | 2011-12-29 | 2011-12-29 | Foot operated control device for electronic instruments |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US8461446B1 true US8461446B1 (en) | 2013-06-11 |
US20130167709A1 US20130167709A1 (en) | 2013-07-04 |
Family
ID=48693603
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/343,650 Expired - Fee Related US8461446B1 (en) | 2011-12-29 | 2012-01-04 | Foot operated control device for electronic drums |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US8461446B1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2762910C (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9761212B2 (en) | 2015-01-05 | 2017-09-12 | Rare Earth Dynamics, Inc. | Magnetically secured instrument trigger |
US9875732B2 (en) | 2015-01-05 | 2018-01-23 | Stephen Suitor | Handheld electronic musical percussion instrument |
US10096309B2 (en) | 2015-01-05 | 2018-10-09 | Rare Earth Dynamics, Inc. | Magnetically secured instrument trigger |
US11335310B2 (en) | 2018-06-18 | 2022-05-17 | Rare Earth Dynamics, Inc. | Instrument trigger and instrument trigger mounting systems and methods |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8802962B2 (en) * | 2012-07-01 | 2014-08-12 | Loren R. Gulak | Foot actuated percussion board |
GB2538481B (en) * | 2014-03-31 | 2018-06-06 | Pairme Products Llc | Shoe pair with position indicator assembly |
Citations (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4394830A (en) * | 1981-05-26 | 1983-07-26 | Rmi Corporation | Feedback reducer for an acoustic electric guitar |
US4501186A (en) * | 1982-06-21 | 1985-02-26 | Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha | Pickup device for stringed musical instrument |
US4753146A (en) | 1984-12-04 | 1988-06-28 | Brock Seiler | Portable electronic drum set |
US4854210A (en) * | 1987-08-26 | 1989-08-08 | Palazzolo Nicholas P | Detachable electric guitar pick-up system |
US5012716A (en) * | 1989-03-21 | 1991-05-07 | Dronge & Rapoport Inc. | Rotatable pick-up head for electric guitar |
US5438158A (en) * | 1994-03-10 | 1995-08-01 | Gibson Guitar Corp. | Pickup, including mounting apparatus thereof, for a stringed musical instrument having a soundhole |
US5614688A (en) * | 1994-12-01 | 1997-03-25 | Donnell; Kenneth D. | Transducer system for acoustic instruments |
US5714706A (en) * | 1995-08-31 | 1998-02-03 | Yamaha Corporation | Method and apparatus for controlling musical sounds by player's foot movements |
US5883322A (en) * | 1995-11-28 | 1999-03-16 | Baker; Michael R. | Feedback minimizing device |
US6043422A (en) * | 1999-02-01 | 2000-03-28 | Chapman; Emmett H. | Compartmentalized pickup module for stringed musical instruments |
US20010015123A1 (en) * | 2000-01-11 | 2001-08-23 | Yoshiki Nishitani | Apparatus and method for detecting performer's motion to interactively control performance of music or the like |
US6441293B1 (en) * | 2000-04-28 | 2002-08-27 | Labarbera Anthony | System for generating percussion sounds from stringed instruments |
US7015390B1 (en) * | 2003-01-15 | 2006-03-21 | Rogers Wayne A | Triad pickup |
US7019206B2 (en) * | 1998-06-30 | 2006-03-28 | Yamaha Corporation | Musical tone control apparatus and sensing device for electronic musical instrument |
US7851684B1 (en) * | 2009-03-27 | 2010-12-14 | Richard Anderson | Anchor bracket for musical instrument strings |
-
2011
- 2011-12-29 CA CA2762910A patent/CA2762910C/en active Active
-
2012
- 2012-01-04 US US13/343,650 patent/US8461446B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (16)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4394830A (en) * | 1981-05-26 | 1983-07-26 | Rmi Corporation | Feedback reducer for an acoustic electric guitar |
US4501186A (en) * | 1982-06-21 | 1985-02-26 | Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha | Pickup device for stringed musical instrument |
US4753146A (en) | 1984-12-04 | 1988-06-28 | Brock Seiler | Portable electronic drum set |
US4854210A (en) * | 1987-08-26 | 1989-08-08 | Palazzolo Nicholas P | Detachable electric guitar pick-up system |
US5012716A (en) * | 1989-03-21 | 1991-05-07 | Dronge & Rapoport Inc. | Rotatable pick-up head for electric guitar |
US5438158A (en) * | 1994-03-10 | 1995-08-01 | Gibson Guitar Corp. | Pickup, including mounting apparatus thereof, for a stringed musical instrument having a soundhole |
US5614688A (en) * | 1994-12-01 | 1997-03-25 | Donnell; Kenneth D. | Transducer system for acoustic instruments |
US5714706A (en) * | 1995-08-31 | 1998-02-03 | Yamaha Corporation | Method and apparatus for controlling musical sounds by player's foot movements |
US5883322A (en) * | 1995-11-28 | 1999-03-16 | Baker; Michael R. | Feedback minimizing device |
US7019206B2 (en) * | 1998-06-30 | 2006-03-28 | Yamaha Corporation | Musical tone control apparatus and sensing device for electronic musical instrument |
US6043422A (en) * | 1999-02-01 | 2000-03-28 | Chapman; Emmett H. | Compartmentalized pickup module for stringed musical instruments |
US20010015123A1 (en) * | 2000-01-11 | 2001-08-23 | Yoshiki Nishitani | Apparatus and method for detecting performer's motion to interactively control performance of music or the like |
US8106283B2 (en) * | 2000-01-11 | 2012-01-31 | Yamaha Corporation | Apparatus and method for detecting performer's motion to interactively control performance of music or the like |
US6441293B1 (en) * | 2000-04-28 | 2002-08-27 | Labarbera Anthony | System for generating percussion sounds from stringed instruments |
US7015390B1 (en) * | 2003-01-15 | 2006-03-21 | Rogers Wayne A | Triad pickup |
US7851684B1 (en) * | 2009-03-27 | 2010-12-14 | Richard Anderson | Anchor bracket for musical instrument strings |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
Canadian Office Action regarding 2,762,910 dated Feb. 28, 2012. |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9761212B2 (en) | 2015-01-05 | 2017-09-12 | Rare Earth Dynamics, Inc. | Magnetically secured instrument trigger |
US9875732B2 (en) | 2015-01-05 | 2018-01-23 | Stephen Suitor | Handheld electronic musical percussion instrument |
US10096309B2 (en) | 2015-01-05 | 2018-10-09 | Rare Earth Dynamics, Inc. | Magnetically secured instrument trigger |
US11335310B2 (en) | 2018-06-18 | 2022-05-17 | Rare Earth Dynamics, Inc. | Instrument trigger and instrument trigger mounting systems and methods |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2762910A1 (en) | 2013-06-29 |
US20130167709A1 (en) | 2013-07-04 |
CA2762910C (en) | 2014-07-08 |
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Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED FOR FAILURE TO PAY MAINTENANCE FEES (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: EXP.); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: SMALL ENTITY |
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